


Those Who See

by Avanalae



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Seer Tim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 16:30:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11650416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avanalae/pseuds/Avanalae
Summary: When Timothy Jackson Drake was born, he was a little unusual.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted November 2011.

When Timothy Jackson Drake was born, he was a little unusual.  
  
Actually, he was  _quite_  unusual.  
  
The most obvious thing was that he didn’t cry nearly as much as the other newborns. He would just lie in silence and sometimes stare at the nurses until they noticed him. The nurses would comment that when they looked into his eyes, they found the blue very beautiful but there was something about them that was… deep. Something that seemed to draw you in – like he could  _see_ you in every sense of the word.  
   
But he’s just a baby.  
   
It didn’t take very long, but soon someone noticed that Tim’s brain was functioning at a greater activity rate than was possibly normal. It was seen as a blessing, especially for Janet Drake who saw him as already becoming a satisfactory heir.  
   
9 days after he had been born, Jack and Janet Drake took off for Cuba. Tim was left alone with his nanny, who did her best to love him in place of his parents. He often had nightmares, turning and whimpering in his sleep and she would wake him with hugs and gentle words.  
  
He had liked her, and he would miss her.  
_  
  
It wasn’t until he was two that he really began to understand what was happening. He would have dreams at night. Dreams about things that happened, are happening, or will happen. And then he began to notice that everything he dreamt was true.  
   
He dreamed that 3 years, 7 months, and 6 days ago there had been a heavy rainstorm in Gotham that had caused many flash floods and killed 8 people.  
   
He dreamed a few nights ago that his parents would call in two days. They had.  
   
Last night he dreamed that one of his neighbor’s dogs was dying of a heart problem. He woke up the next morning to hear the news.  
   
It was so very hard on the small child. His mind was far more developed than other children, but still it was difficult to have all of these thoughts and try to understand or push them away.  
   
He was three when he had a dream about the circus. It hadn’t been too detailed, but Tim knew for sure that something bad was going to happen to some acrobats. He felt the need to  _go_. To  _be_ there. Maybe he could do something?  
   
No, Tim had to be realistic. There was little – if anything – that a three year old could do.  
   
But he convinced his parents to take him anyway.  
_  
   
It  _hurts_.  
   
Tim is six, now. The dreams have started coming to him during the day as well. It’s difficult to explain and divert attention when someone notices how he seems to drift off and stare at nothing sometimes.  
   
It  _hurts_.  
   
Not just because of that. But also because the future isn’t set in stone. That means there are so many possibilities for even a single event that Tim is often and easily overwhelmed by the thoughts; opportunities; details; ideas;  _everything_.  
   
He’s so  _tired_.  
   
So Tim looks with all the resources available to him for ways to meditate; to be able to control thoughts and hone your mind. Because he knows that this could easily consume him and he needs to prevent that.  
_  
   
Tim is nine. It has taken a lot of study, hard work, and constant practice, but he can finally go through the day without the visions consuming him. It’s a relief, both to his mental state and the opinions about him, since his isn’t zoning out anymore.  
   
Then he sees the footage of Batman and Robin on the TV and His mind flashes back to the past: to the Graysons’ last performance. The ringmaster had boasted about how only 3 people in the world could do that flip.  
   
Two of them are dead now.  
   
Everything sinks into place and Tim quietly makes his way to his room. He curls up on his bed and cries for a while as he loses focus enough that the visions and images take him and sweep him through everything that has happened and could happen to “Robin.”  
   
Dick Grayson.  
   
Images of his triumphs, failures, injuries, friends, and everything fill his mind.  
   
For the first time in a long while, he faints.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted November 2011.

Timothy Jackson Drake is a prodigy.  
   
He excels in his schooling. With little effort he gets perfect grades in every subject he takes. Sciences, math, history, languages, and even the arts – Tim surpasses all expectations.  
   
Timothy is 12.  
   
None of this is enough for Janet Drake, however. She pushes her son hard. Even with his excellent grades, he must be even better. He must think, act, and  _be_  perfect.  
   
And he is.  
   
At least, he does his best. It’s hard being what everyone wants, especially when it’s all just a mask.  
   
Truthfully, Tim does enjoy learning. He doesn’t focus on how he’s being pushed and instead concentrates on  _learning_. Because filling his head with knowledge, of any type, helps him control his mind. He can organize his thoughts until he can easily sort through information and manage his thoughts. Having these systems in place helps him because he still  _sees_  things.  
   
So Tim fills his mind with everything. Numbers, pictures, trivia, history, and anything and everything he can think of.  
   
He has four things he loves: martial arts, music, photography, and  _Robin_.  
   
Martial arts help Tim with his façade. It teaches him how to focus and control his entire body. He can manipulate his reactions, expressions, and movements. He can perfect every detail of every mask he wears. It also helps him to feel, to sense things around him.  
   
It forms his  _body_.  
   
Music is a secret passion of his. There were several instruments in the Drake manor. Most of them untouched for much too long, but they were there. A violin, a piano, and a cello – all dusty and in neglected condition.  
   
Just like him.  
   
He first finds them when he is 4 years old. He had researched everything about those instruments and then went about cleaning them with care. No one noticed. His parents weren’t around and the housekeeper had other things to do. So Tim kept this to himself. At night, when he was alone (and the manor was so very, very empty), Tim would practice, filling the silence with bittersweet sounds.  
   
Tim only got better with time and now he is capable of playing the violin, piano, cello, harp, flute, and the organ. Each instrument helps him deal with a different part of himself. Soft and loud, high and low, slow and fast – everything he plays helps him live another day.  
   
It forms his  _mind_.  
   
Photography was the something Tim hadn’t expected to get into. But there was something about having the heavy weight in his hands, grounding him, as he captured just a little piece of the world around him. A picture of the freedom he would never have, of the love he has never felt, or of something that he knows he will never experience. It’ a way to take just a bit of happiness for himself. He develops all his photos by himself, touches gentle and experienced.  
   
He only loves it more when he starts following Batman and Robin. He’s been doing it for years and never has he ever gotten bored of it. Taking pictures of Batman is like capturing a bit of his darkness, of his shadow (something that Tim can feel and sympathize with). Taking pictures of Robin is entirely different. Robin is happy, vibrant, and like a star among Batman’s night. Taking these pictures feels like he’s viewing something beautiful but partaking in something terrible.  
   
It forms his  _soul._  
   
Robin is  _everything_  to Tim. Everything that Tim wants for himself, everything that Tim will never be, and everything that makes him  _yearn_.  
   
Dick Grayson had been the first and to Tim, he had been the sun. He shone so brightly that Tim felt blinded under the looks that the boy never actually gave him. He broke away the shadows that hung around Bruce, flying free and unburdened. Even after his fight with Bruce, he didn’t let it consume him.  
   
Jason Todd had been significantly different. Tim had been unsure at first, but as time passed and he followed them, he changed his mind. Jason was brash, rude, and wrathful, but he was also strong, bright, and funny. Tim would get many visions of Jason. Some of them would make him cry, many would make him smile, and some even made him laugh.  
   
He had the vision of Ethiopia much too late, though.  
   
And  _everything_  fell to pieces.  
  
_  
   
Tim is 13 (but feels so much older).  
   
He knows what he needs to do. He sees what’s happening to Batman and he  _sees_  what will happen if it continues. He knows, but he doesn’t know if he can.  
   
Tim is a small boy. He has been neglected (he knows and acknowledges that, but he won’t do anything else about it) so he is smaller than average. He’s strong, though, from his rigorous martial art training. He’s smart, he knows more than anyone else his age.  
   
He knows what will happen.  
   
But he must do it anyway.  
  
_  
   
Just as he had thought (so many of the possibilities he had  _seen_  said he would do this), Dick refused to become Robin. Tim watched as he went to help Batman in his Nightwing outfit.  
   
He turns to Alfred, who is looking at him with an odd look in his eye. They share an unspoken conversation and Tim knows he can trust this man.  
   
So it’s not long before Tim’s riding off with the man to save Bruce and Dick.


End file.
